Hamlet's famous "To be or Not to be" soliloquy has been reacted and brought to the big screen numerous times decades. In Laurence Oliver's film adaption of Hamlet, he both directs and acts out his version of the soliloquy. Since this version of Hamlet is much older, it was filmed in black and white. It starts off with Hamlet looking off into the ocean, then he pulls out his dagger because he's contemplating suicide. After saying a few sentences, the lines shift from being vocalized to being mentally spoken, then it continues until the lines are verbally spoken again. I found quite interesting how Oliver chose to use this transition between word and thought because for the most part, this soliloquy was basically a mental conversation between Hamlet and himself in the real play. Also the when the camera zooms into Hamlet's face, the music intensifies as he reverts back to speech. For the rest of this scene, there really isn't any music playing and the only background noise you hear is the ocean. However, it seemed like Oliver delivered his lines with little to no emotion and this scene had a tedious ambience.
Franco Zeffirelli's version starts off with Hamlet walking into the catacombs of the Elsinore castle. I immediately felt a sense of irony because a speech about death was going to be delivered in a tomb for the deceased. At this point I realized that Zeffirelli's version as a whole seemed to be the most realistic movie adaption of Hamlet. Since this took place in the catacombs during the day, the only light source available were sparse sun rays that shined through openings in the ceiling. Early in his soliloquy, Hamlet rested his head upon a tomb before briefly looking up into the sky. Hamlet wanted to die and he must've felt that being in a tomb was the only way to avoid the hardships he faced in life. When Hamlet looked up into the sky, it seemed as if he wanted God to hear his feelings about taking one's life. Also, Mel Gibson delivered his lines with a lot of emotion and you were able to sympathize with his problems because you could tell how much he yarned for an end to his pain.
Kenneth Branagh starts off his soliloquy very slowly as he stares at himself through a mirror in an empty lounge room. As Hamlet moves toward the mirror you could her a faint instrument playing in the background. I think Branagh wanted to emphasize the fact that Hamlet was having a conversation with himself, so he chose to have the soliloquy take place in front of a mirror. When Hamlet pulled out his dagger and spoke to his reflection in the mirror, it seemed as if he was taunting himself to commit suicide. Other than these elements and the extravagant colors of the lounge room, this version of the soliloquy wasn't that special. Branagh's acting was monotone because he didn't show that much
emotion.
The last film adaption of the "To be or Not to be" soliloquy I saw was the Almereyda version. This is the modernized version of Hamlet and it took place in a Blockbuster store. It starts off as a thought in Hamlet's mind before it's switched over to speech, similar to Laurence Oliver's Hamlet. Hamlet then starts to walk down the action movie section of the DVD store, most likely due to the fact that the main concept of this soliloquy is suicide. Hamlet was speculating suicide because he felt that the only action he should take to resolve his problems was to kill himself. At the end of the section in which he was walking was a TV playing "The Crow". In my opinion, I think the director used this particular movie to display Hell, the afterlife Hamlet would encounter if he did kill himself. However, I just can't take the use of Shakespearean language in the modern world serious. Even though certain elements of this version of Hamlet were clever and unique, I found it quite comical about the way Almereyda constructed this movie.
I agree that Oliver's Hamlet had seem to not deliver his lines with full emotional expressions and that the scene had just contained a tedious ambience. I did at first found that it interesting as well that Oliver had transitioned between mentally and vocally speaking his lines, but it became less significant as I watched the other versions. Most of the versions of Hamlet's soliloquy were quietly spoken, so why not make Hamlet mentally speak his lines that also add on to the scene by showing what Hamlet is only thinking about. I do feel your correct about Zeffirelli's version being the most realistic, but to me it does not seem as an exciting setting like on top of a cliff or in the castle where Hamlet belongs. But you could also argue that a blockbuster is not exciting at all. Which brings me to the last film adaption of Hamlet's soliloquy. Almereyda!s version does get the most critism from what i've heard, but I feel this interpretation is under looked. As a modern version you should not really expect to have Hamlet in an older setting like a tomb of the deceased. The modern version is easier to relate to and should be taken more serious, because a time period that was only a few years ago should be the easiest way of telling or simplifying a story.
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